Unfair Challenges
by NeverUnderestimateWords
Summary: When Dr. Fury goes to work these days, he feels awful for his charges. They never will be heros. T for sad themes, also I'm paranoid. Children Au. Mental Asylum Au.


**_A/N: This weird idea popped into my head after watching the First Avengers again, and I just had to make a one-shot of it. This may need tissues. I researched these difficulties, but if you have any personal experience or advice on these topics, tell me._**

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Usually, Dr. Nicholas J. Fury was excellent at keeping his emotions away, but lately the newest kids were incredibly draining on his feelings. _I'm not a weak man, but these children may be a weakness for me_ , he thought to himself as he arrived at his work parking lot.

The gray brick building that the senior physician went in was surrounded by a heavy metal fence, with a sign reading: **The Shelter for Humans with Intellectual Hindrances, Limitations, or Defects. Stay Away.** This didn't faze the man in the slightest.

Once reporting to the front desk, Dr. Fury checked in with his most difficult regulars. His special six young boys and one little girl had just been let out into the Restricted Access Common Area from their individual cell-like bedrooms. The space was a bland room; the walls were covered in crudely drawn pictures; there were thick glassed windows; the furniture was unimpressive and in too bright, primary colors. It wasn't a mansion or especially attractive, but it was surprisingly inviting for the motley troop.

Almost immediately after his entrance most of the children started babbling at him right away.

"Director Fury, what did the Council say?" questioned the eldest boy, who was only at the tender age of twelve yet the group normally looked to. Steve Rogers.

The red-haired girl, Natasha, protested her punishment for punching the youth named Anthony, while Anthony, or Tony, loudly spoke of 'spies and their cruelty' and 'the incapacity of the team's trust complex'.

Clint Barton, or Natsha's best friend, muttered, "Am I finally cleared from brain control?"

The littlest boy with severe anger issues, Bruce, shyly commented, "Can I please get away from all of the others, I might Hulk out on them?"

The brothers Thor and Loki were wrestling in a corner.

It was only 8 a.m. in the morning. What a day to be alive.

* * *

A twinge in the Doctor's heart sounded off as he watched the kids play in their make-believe world. He sat in the adjacent room from the Restricted Access area viewing the youngsters.

Each child had been brought in recently at about the same time, and together they had inspired a place away from their personal pains. Often the doctors overheard them drawing up plans to save the world from aliens, cruel organizations, or nasty dictators. Maybe that was the deepest wish in all of them was to make a difference despite their afflictions. Even Loki was a kind soul, just with some social difficulties.

His assistant Maria Hill carried the seven files corresponding to the young ones, so he could fill out the recent development in each youth, but his heart wasn't in it. Dr. Fury couldn't focus so he read the summaries for each child instead, which made him worsen in emotional pain.

The wiry, blond Steve had heart problems that effected his brain causing severe damage. His lungs couldn't always cope with the Steve's golden heart and active weak body, so he had undergone lots of surgeries. He likes it when the others call him Captain.

Tony was abused since birth from his alcoholic father, causing him to retreat into creating mechanical devices or playing in imaginary worlds. His parents had died in a car crash, and Child Services couldn't handle him so he was brought into S.H.I.E.L.D.

Natasha's family immigrated from a cruel part of Russia. She was born prone to her wild imagination and violent tendencies. Sometimes she had terrible flashbacks, but she was unnaturally tough.

Clint lived in a hard family life as well. He always avoids any questions about what happened, and also is hard of hearing. The young lady and Barton became the closest of friends, with their broken back stories, soft interiors, and slightly cruel streaks.

Generally Bruce was an introverted and sweet eight year old, but at stressful points he had anger issues. After his mum's sudden death at his own father's hand, the complications started. When the mental rage overtakes him, the other children called him a different name, 'the Hulk'. None of the physicians understood why the nickname was used as a fond term by Tony and Clint; while Bruce and Loki spat it out as a curse; yet Steve, Natasha, and Thor a technical word.

Lastly, here were the Odinson brothers. While Thor was blonde and Loki had shiny dark hair, one muscular and the other lithe, they both suffered from some mental defects that occurred at birth. To make matters even more grim, Loki also suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Some of the time Loki was a encouraging, timid child, while other times he could go clinically insane. It was a terrible thing for a child to have.

Once Doctor Fury finally put in the newest growths and troubles, he realized an unsettling quiet was about. Quickly looking up he shook his head in dismay and hustled over. All of the 'Avengers', as they called themselves, minus Loki, had cornered the non-teammate against the brick wall.

Thor's voice was quite deep and loud for an eleven year old, so it echoed in the brick room. "Brother you can't keep doing evil, you must face justice..."

Hustling over, the doctor didn't know if he should chuckle at the formal speech or frown. Thor's and Loki's speech therapist had been trying to help the brothers with their talking, to no avail. It was always a little funny hearing two boys aged eleven and nine speak like Victorians. Though that also made them especially different in a mental capacity if it was affecting the speech, which was worrisome.

Separating the scant crowd, Fury demanded an explanation.

Steve answered for the crew, "He was attacking New York, with his alien army, Director Fury. Why didn't you send more help?"

Ah, yes. He was a director for a government spy company. The medical department had decided to discourage the fantasies, but they kept cropping up.

While, most children had an imaginary friend or world, these mini humans lived them with little to no awareness of reality. Each of the children were so scarred that to protect themselves from the frigid, harsh world where they are victims, they hide in a one where they can be saviors.

Trying to be as gentle as possible, Dr. Fury explained softly once again the crushing reality, "I know this may be a hard concept to understand but here it is: you are all children. This isn't New York, your at a mental facility. Don't worry things are difficult now, but they can get better."

For a moment the seven stood wide-eyed but than they continued to proceed in explaining why Loki shouldn't have tried to wreck Earth and that they need to send him back to a place called 'Asgard'.

With a sympathetic sigh he stepped back into the observation room. Ms. Hill tactfully inquired her boss with a single question. "They won't ever get better will they?"

"We have to have some hope that they might regain their mental facilities, but no. I think they'll always live here in there wonderful, internal world," he finished with another groan. Tony, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Clint, Thor, and Loki weren't even teens, but they already had met more pain and struggle than in a regular lifetime.

Life wasn't kind to the little Avengers, it threw everything at them. But here they are, still standing as their own heroes.

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 **A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed and read it! Should I add chapters on each individual kid? I might, I'm not quite sure.**


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